Adaptive Template

[jbupp]

   We use a similar sub-assembly in almost every assembly we design.  So what I would like to do is make a template from this sub-assembly that I can make adaptive, constrain to the proper parts and have it resize to the main assembly.  I've been trying to do this for a few weeks now with little success.

   I have seen tutorials make adaptive part templates but never adaptive assembly templates.  Is this even possible?

   I know you can't make individual parts adaptive to multiple assemblies without saving each part as a different file and I think that's where my problems are coming from.  Even though I save the template as a different file is it still referencing the original adaptive part in my library folder?  If so, is there a way I can make it not do that?  I may be way off base there too I don’t know.

[blair]

You may want to look at iAssemblies

[jbupp]

   Thank you for the reply, however, I did think about that and an iassembly isn't really the route I want to go unless I have to.

   There are sometimes arbitrary angles and distances from my base point and sometimes I'll have formulas like this one "8.25 in - 0.25 in / sin(60 deg) + 1.375 in / tan(60 deg) + sqrt(( 3.25 in ) ^ 2 ul - ( 1.375 in ) ^ 2 ul) - 7 in - 0.125 in" which I have in one of these assemblies now.  Other times I'll have to use a simple "3.25 in"  dimension for the same parameter in a different part.  While I don't have issues coming up with that first formula, it does take a while and it is possible there can be more factors in it than that and I do make mistakes sometimes so things don't line up correctly.  

[swhite]

Do you use vault? If so its a simple matter, if not its a lot more shall we use the word pain-in-the-..., I mean fun 🙂

[mcgyvr]

Can you go into a little more detail? Does the "flexible" option not work for these subs?

We have a similar situation where I have some screw/washer subassemblies used in hundreds of main assemblies.. I simply drop the screw/washer sub and then right click it and select "flexible" then constrain how I want it.

[swhite · Accepted solution]

And everytime you open an assembly it requires an update, because the screw is whatever length last used, but updates to whatever assembly you have open at the time. So if you made a drawing of the screw assembly, it would never be the same from assembly to assembly. Likewise with parts, If you make an assembly adaptive (flexible is for a different use) then the drawing containing that part in older assemblies would change to whatever the last assembly size was. making reusing old drawings useless. With your screw you just don't see it because you dont have a drawing dimensioning that screw. If it was 3" orginanlly and you make it 4, then any drawing thats contains just that screw would update to show 4". You just lucked out and chose an assembly that it doesn't matter what length it is because you have no master drawing for it.

Flexible is best used when you have lets say a hydraulic cylinder. Naturally it changes length when extended or contracted, but the parts themselves do not resize. Flexible will allow you to constrain the rod to the cylinder, leaving the length unconstrained, so that when both ends are constrained in an assembly it lengthens or shortens as needed by sliding the rod in and out of the cylinder housing, the only constraint not supplied.

[jbupp]

   Right now we do not have vault, our IT guy is having some problems with our main servers and has not been able to get it implemented yet.

   Basically what I'm doing now is using design assistant to copy over the last sub-assembly into my new assembly. This works ok, but very cumbersome and I was hoping for a little more ease of use, so that when we do get vault installed our designers at our other locations could simply save the template into their assemblies and constrain it accordingly.

   Also SWhite is correct, that is exactly what the problem is.  I guess my thought on it was that when you save a part as a template, it is not linked to the original part.  I was hoping saving an assemly as a template would either create templates of the parts too or just save them internally.

[swhite · Accepted solution]

Once you get vault the vault Design Copy makes life much easier, but until then you will have to keep copying assemblies and parts or go the iAssembly route. Even with vault you still have to copy new parts ect, but it is just so much easier to rename, etc with Design Copy.